Sept. 19, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The No.9 Penn State women's soccer team will begin its pursuit of a 16th consecutive Big Ten title this Friday, kicking off the conference slate at home against Northwestern. The match is set for a 7:00 p.m. start at Jeffrey Field.
Penn State will welcome the youth soccer players of the Centre Soccer Association for CSA Night on Friday. The first of two 11 vs. 100 events will take place at halftime as the PSU men's soccer team challenges 100 youth soccer players from the CSA. Parking and admission are free for all Penn State women's soccer matches. Fans are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place on stadium grounds.
The Blue and White (6-1-1) enter the contest on a five-match winning streak, most recently defeating Bucknell, Oklahoma State and Tulsa on the road last week. PSU tallied its second shutout of the season at Bucknell, downing the Bison by a mark of 6-0 on Tuesday before overpowering Oklahoma State, 4-2, and Tulsa, 3-2, over the weekend.
Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) led the Lions with four goals and one assist on the week, earning Disney Soccer/NSCAA National Player of the Week and Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Mallory Weber (Novi, Mich.), Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) also had big performances for PSU. Weber notched four goals while Costa tallied one goal and three assists and Rodriguez added three helpers.
Hayes ranks first in the team and conference standings with nine goals and 21 points on the season while Rodriguez leads the team in assists with a total of five. Goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom (Germantown, Md.) leads the Big Ten in saves, having collected 35 in eight matches.
Northwestern comes into Friday's match at 2-4-2 after drawing with Western Michigan and defeating Oakland last week. The Wildcats posted shutouts against both opponents, battling Western Michigan to a 0-0 tie on Thursday and ousting Oakland 2-0 on Sunday.
Leading the way for the Wildcats are juniors Katie Landgrebe and Georgia Waddle, who have each netted two goals this season. Senior Katie Allen has also been influential for Northwestern's offensive attack, tallying three assists. Freshman keeper Jenna Hascher has been a key component of the Wildcat defense as she has shut out her last three opponents. Hascher has allowed just three goals this season and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with a goals-against average of 0.48.
The Nittany Lions hold a commanding 20-2-0 all-time record against Northwestern. Penn State overpowered the Wildcats by a count of 4-1 in their last meeting on Sept. 21, 2012. The Lions have not fallen to Northwestern since Oct. 16, 1998.
The Blue and White return to Jeffrey Field for two more home matches next week. PSU will face Big Ten foe Purdue on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. before hosting Indiana on Sunday in a noon match.